Family At Last
by I. M. Frelling-Wonko
Summary: Emma has a family at last.
1. Mom

Minor spoilers for parts of season 4A. Takes place after 4x10 _Shattered Sight_.

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**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Once Upon A Time_

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**Mom**

"Mom?" Emma called out as she entered the loft. "You home?"

"Over here, Emma."

Emma followed the soft voice to the corner where her mother sat curled up on the sofa reading. She couldn't make out what it was but from the look on her Snow's face, it wasn't anything good.

"What are you-Oh..." she trailed off as she realised what it was. Her file, the one Ingrid had kept on her, sat open on the sofa and her mother's eyes were glued to the greeting card she'd shown Killian. "Uh...um, where did you get that?"

"I stole it from your desk the day you showed us the video." she said, still not looking up.

Emma didn't know whether to be annoyed, angry or amused but she'd heard the sad note to Snow's voice and chose to let it go. Instead, she lifted the file and sat beside her mother, bumping shoulders as she did.

"You know that doesn't mean anything, right?"

"Of course it means something, Emma." Snow finally looked up and Emma saw unshed tears in her eyes. "You were happy with Ingrid, you had a family, even if it was only for a little while."

"I was happy." Emma said softly, recalling her newly returned memories. "But it wasn't real."

"Emma-"

"No. I know now that Ingrid loved me in her own way, and I, her, but it was never real. It was based on a prophecy. She loved me for what I could bring her, not for who I am. I see that now." Emma paused for a moment, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "You accepted me and believed in me before you even knew I was your daughter. You have no idea how much that meant, _means_ to me."

"I loved you the moment I laid eyes on you." Snow gave a watery smile as she placed an arm around Emma's shoulder, pulling her close.

"Exactly, you love me. Not what I can do for you, but _me_. That's the difference." Emma rested her head on Snow's shoulder. "And no matter what Ingrid thought, I _never_ thought of her as a mother. You're the only person I've ever called Mom. _You're_ my mother and nothing anyone does can change that."

"Thank you, Emma."

"For what?" she asked, lifting her head to look at her mother.

"For being you." Snow leaned over and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you for being my mom." Emma smiled sheepishly, squeezing her mother in a hug once before standing. She stopped short when Snow spoke up.

"Can I keep these?" Snow indicated the file full of school projects.

"Sure." Emma smiled. "Just make sure they don't end up on the refrigerator."

"No promises." Snow laughed.

Emma rolled her eyes but chose not to argue. "I'm going to bed. Got a long day tomorrow."

"Good night, Emma. I love you."

"I love you, too, Mom." Emma smiled shyly one last time before heading up the stairs to her room.

()()()()

The next morning, Emma awoke to find some of her paintings taking up most of the refrigerator. She knew she should be annoyed but couldn't find it in herself to do so. For the first time in her life, she had someone who was proud of her accomplishments, someone who didn't expect anything more from her than to be herself, and it was the best feeling in the world.

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**A/N:** Some of you may recognise this. I had it posted on another account but decided to transfer it here.


	2. Daddy

**Daddy**

"I'll be right out." Emma told Killian, leaning over to give him a quick kiss before exiting the Bug and heading into the Sheriff's station. She'd forgotten her jacket earlier and wanted to grab it quickly so she and Killian could go out. With Rumpelstiltskin gone and no villains on the horizon, she was planning on taking full advantage of the lull. She walked swiftly down the corridor to the bullpen, hoping to be in and out, when she noticed her father sitting quietly in front of the video equipment. Wondering what held his attention, Emma slowly made her way to his side. Her breath hitched when she noticed her teenage self frozen on the screen.

"Dad?" she called out quietly.

"Emma!" David jumped slightly and turned to her, looking every bit a guilty child. Emma nearly laughed at the irony. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a...date with Hook."

"I do, but I forgot my jacket." she shrugged and pointed to her office where the object was hanging. "Uh, what are _you_ doing here?"

"I wanted to get through some of this paperwork that's piled up."

Emma merely crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, not believing a word he said. He sighed and averted his eyes.

"Sometimes you're just like your mother." he grumbled before turning back to her. "I had to get out of the house for a bit."

"Is everything okay?" she asked, a worried frown creasing her brow as she pulled up a seat next to him. "You and Mom..."

"No, no, nothing like that, princess." he smiled reassuringly at her and continued. "Your mom and I are fine. It's just...Ever since you gave her that file, she hasn't stopped talking about it. Don't get me wrong, I love looking at all of your school projects. I love getting to see who you were as a child. Only..."

"Only, you wish you had been there to see it first-hand." Emma finished knowingly and reached out to grab hold of his hand. "I get it. I feel the same way about Henry."

"I know, princess, but at least you've got him now. I never had that chance and now you're all grown up. I missed all of your firsts."

"Hey, that's not your fault. If you hadn't sent me through the portal, we'd all still be cursed."

"But we would have been together." David smiled, echoing Emma's words from right after the curse broke.

"Given how Regina felt about Mom back then, I'm not so sure about that. Who knows what would have happened, where we would have ended up. Besides, if we hadn't been separated, I wouldn't have Henry and that's not something I would trade for anything. The only thing that matters is that we're together now and I'm not going anywhere."

"Until the pirate decides to propose." David said with a wry, humourless smile.

"He's not-We're not...seriously..." Emma choked out, eyes nearly popping out at her father's words. Taking a deep (_very deep_) breath, she composed herself before trying again. "Dad, we've only been out a few times. We're not even close to..._that_ topic, yet."

David smirked and Emma knew he disagreed but thankfully kept it to himself. She was _definitely_ not ready to talk about this, especially not with her father.

"Listen, no matter what happens with me and Killian, you're my dad and there'll always be room for you in my life." She rested her head on his shoulder just because she knew she could and looked up at him. "Besides, I've never been anyone's 'princess' before and I like it."

"You'll always be _my_ princess." David said and kissed her hair, making her smile. "I love you, Emma."

"I love you, too, Daddy." Emma's eyes widened a little as the term slid of out her mouth but shrugged it off when she saw the loving smile of her father's face. She'll give him that one. "Let me grab my jacket and you can walk me out."

"Of course." David said and stood, smile still in place. When she came out of her office, he held out his arm and she took it willingly. They walked silently out of the Sheriff's station arm-in-arm, each comfortable in the knowledge that they now had each other and neither was going anywhere.


	3. Baby Bro

**Baby Bro**

Emma stared at the door her mother had just exited then down at the bundle in her arms, wondering how she'd gotten herself into this mess. Actually, she knew the answer to that. Her mother had guilt-tripped her into it. Who knew Snow White could be so manipulative? A sudden jerking of her hair brought Emma out of her reverie and she focussed her attention on her brother.

"Well, kid, I guess it's just you and me." The kid wailed and Emma sighed. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."

Neal continued to cry as she bounced him up and down. She knew Snow had fed and changed him before leaving so why was he crying?

"Hey, little guy, there's no need for that. Your big sis is here to take care of you." Emma glared at the baby when her comment only elicited a louder cry. "Seriously?"

Emma was not accustomed to dealing with babies. Even with the false memories from Regina, she still felt completely out of her element. She'd managed to avoid being alone with Neal for any long period of time for 5 months but now she was stuck. It wasn't that she didn't love the kid. She _did_. She'd just never thought she'd be a big sister, especially at her age. Oh, she'd had younger foster siblings during her time in the system, but this was different. This was her real family. What if she screwed up? Even Neal seemed to believe that was a distinct possibility, given his obvious aversion to her. Letting out a frustrated groan, Emma strapped the baby into his bouncer and tried to think of something to distract him. His teddy bear! She made a mad dash to grab the toy from his crib and sat in front of the kid, making the bear dance a little. Nothing. In fact, it only seemed to make him shriek louder.

"Really? You slept through a curse, a sword fight between our mother and the Evil Queen, and this upsets you?" Emma blew out a breath, rolling her eyes. She looked at the bear then back at Neal. "Yeah, I guess this thing is kinda boring, huh? Mom and Dad really need to buy you more interactive toys, kid."

Suddenly an idea struck and Emma bit her lip, debating the pros and cons of her brainstorm. She'd never done anything like this in front of Neal and she didn't know how her parents would react. Then again, did they really have to find out? Looking back to her crying brother, she made her decision. She stood to gather some of his toys then settled on the floor once more.

"Hey, buddy, watch this." Emma held out her hands and the pile of toys started floating. Neal's cries quieted as he studied the magical parade. Emma grinned and started making the toys dance and flip. Neal giggled, encouraging Emma in her playfulness. She continued on for a long while, enjoying the look of pure joy on her brother's face. A powerful burst of love engulfed Emma and she faltered in her magic from the force. The toys fell from the air as she looked at her brother in awe, a smile creeping over her face when he stared back at her. Laughter bubbled from her and she lifted the kid out of his seat, twirling around the living room. Instead of crying this time, he joined in her laughter as if to say, "Finally!" She got it, she finally understood. She'd been trying way too hard. It was so simple! She placed a sloppy kiss to Neal's cheek which made them both giggle. She could totally do this big sister thing.

()()()()

Later that day, Snow and Charming walked into the quiet apartment to find their children curled up on the sofa, asleep. Henry's storybook lay open on Emma's lap. Open to their story, Snow noticed. She smiled, tears prickling the back of her eyes and she leant into Charming's embrace. She had no idea how long they stood there watching the scene, but Snow knew it was something she'd never forget. Her children, her _family_, together and happy.

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**A/N: **I want to do a Henry story, but I haven't got a plot bunny yet. I'm open to suggestions.


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